No Juneteenth celebration this year

LAKE ELSINORE -- Disappointing attendance the last few years is
forcing the local branch of the NAACP to scrap its annual
Juneteenth celebration -- at least for this year.

Loraine Watts, the Southwest County branch president of the
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, blamed
poor weather in past years for driving down attendance and eroding
interest in the event, which began in 2001 locally.

"The last few times we've had it, it's been so cold people
didn't stay," she said. "And people just weren't coming."

The celebration commemorates June 19, 1865 -- the date black
slaves were finally freed in Texas, because it took almost 2 1/2
years for word to reach the state that President Lincoln had
proclaimed them free. The local event has traditionally featured
food, vendors, live music, poetry readings and educational
presentations highlighting black history.

The last couple of years, the event was held at Yarborough Park,
which is named for Lake Elsinore's first black mayor -- Thomas G.
Yarborough served in that post from 1966 to 1968 -- and local NAACP
officials had said they were hoping to make that the event's
permanent home.

Watts said she is encouraging people to attend Juneteenth
celebrations in other areas.

The North San Diego County branch is putting on several events
this weekend in Oceanside. The Juneteenth Multi-Cultural Street
Fair will be held from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today at the Oceanside
Beach Amphitheatre.

This free event will include food, live entertainment,
children's activities, arts and crafts, and health screenings from
local health-care providers.

A Community Family Barbecue is planned from 2 to 6 p.m. Sunday
at the Martin Luther King Jr. Park off Mesa Drive in Oceanside.
This event is also free and will feature food, fellowship, games
and giveaways for children.

Watts said that the Lake Elsinore branch isn't ruling out
bringing the event back in the future.

"We'll wait and see," Watts said. "I never say never."

Sonja Wilson, a school board member and historian of the local
NAACP branch, said Friday that one of the reasons Juneteenth
celebrations might not be popular here is because they commemorate
something that happened in Texas.

Still, said Wilson, who is black, it's disappointing that more
in the local black community aren't participating in events like
Juneteenth celebrations.

"Actually, I think our people need to be more active at
everything," she said. "They're not coming together. You've got to
get out there, you've got to be active."